Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires 107 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 57.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $33,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.40.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.35 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.